Home is Where You Are
by Tiny Teacup
Summary: Harry sneaks out late one night, not knowing what will happen during his midnight adventure. He ends up seeing a fellow Hogwarts student in a whole new light. Slash. This story was written before Half-Blood Prince came out.
1. Chapter 1

Harry Potter sat very still on the edge of his bed, listening very carefully. He could hear the snores of both his Uncle Vernon and rather large cousin Dudley coming from just down the hall. Even though Aunt Petunia typically didn't snore, Harry thought it safe to assume she was also soundly asleep.

The dark haired teen checked himself over in the floor-length mirror in the corner of the room, making sure he wasn't forgetting anything. He plucked his wallet off the dresser, sliding it into the back pocket of his jeans. Denim clung just as snugly to the small leather case as it did to Harry's legs. He had wondered if his new pants were perhaps a bit too tight. He didn't think about the subject too much, as they were a welcome change from his cousin's overlarge cast-offs. It wasn't really his fault he didn't know his size, school uniforms were practically the only clothes he'd ever bought for himself.

Harry had never considered himself attractive, always having been a bit small and skinny. He had been easy pickings for his cousin in their younger years, he had been Dudley's favorite target for bullying. Dudley hadn't bothered him as much since he started at Hogwarts. It probably didn't hurt that they didn't see each other for most of the year. Out of sight, out of mind, as they say. Harry doubted Dudley remembered he even had a cousin most of the time.

Harry could see that his reflection had changed over the last year. He was lightly muscled, due in part to the rather large, boisterous animals they'd had lessons on in Care of Magical Creatures class. Harry had often helped Hagrid out after class, as most of the other students wanted to get away from Hagrid's strange creatures as quickly as they could.

While Harry still didn't figure he was all that much to look at, some of the girls at school thought him worth giggles and blushes. A lot of that attention had to be because he was the one and only Harry Potter, but Harry had to believe that people saw more to him than that.

After one last glance at the mirror, Harry gave his bedroom a final scan before he pushed out of his bedroom window. He was thankful for a conveniently placed tree branch, without which he might never have had the idea for that night's little late night adventure. Harry was thankful his uncle had never thought of the tree as an escape route for the nephew he so despised. Harry made his way down the tree, stopping near the middle and jumping the rest of the way. His feet made a light thump on the slightly damp grass as he landed. Thinking of the hell his aunt and uncle would raise if they knew what he was up to, the young wizard jogged the two blocks which separated the house he'd grown up in from the nearest telephone box. Harry held his breath for the moment it took to assure himself that no one was giving chase.

Harry called for a taxi, then settled in to wait for a few minutes, the dispatcher had told him they were having a particularly busy night. He leaned against the side of the phone box, glancing one way down the street and then the other. His eyes then raised to the sky, examining stars that were out in full force.

It wasn't long before a pair of bright headlights made their way around the corner of the drive, startling Harry slightly. The taxi drove up to him slowly and stopped. Harry made quick work of climbing into the back.

"Evening." Said the driver, a rather pretty brunette who looked to be in her mid-twenties.

"Evening." Harry replied, fiddling with the collar of the jacket he was holding with one arm.

"Little late to be going out, isn't it?" The driver glanced in her rear view, looking back at Harry.

"I suppose." He stated simply, not really wanting to go into a conversation about where he was going.

"Where we headed, then?" The car started moving as the driver asked this. She stopped at the corner and waited for Harry's response.

"Wandsworth Street."

"Right then." Harry could see a hint of a smirk on the woman's face as she made a right turn.

The ride was only a few minutes. The taxi driver was speeding a little, but Harry didn't really mind. She seemed to know which streets to hit so that they wouldn't meet much traffic.

"Here we are." At that, Harry got out of the car, paid the driver through her window and said thank you.

"Have a nice evening, love. Hope you have fun." She giggled, then sped off down the street and out of sight, leaving Harry to scratch his head at the slight trail of dust she left behind her.

Harry spun around, taking in everything around him. Flashing neon lights, loud music streaming from almost every door, and men. Lots of men, some that looked to be no older than Harry, and plenty of them were attractive. Harry needed to decide where he was going to go. The night certainly wasn't getting any younger with him just standing there.

He found a club that still had a steady stream of patrons both going in and coming out, and started towards it, ID in hand. It wasn't just any ID, it was a fake ID. A fake ID he'd managed to purchase in the wizarding world, from his best friend's trickster brothers, no less. The small card of brown parchment would change appearance to Harry's will, and it would be very useful indeed. Since using the card didn't actually involve using any of his own magic, there was no risk of getting in trouble with the Ministry.

Harry focused on the small brown card, and after shimmering for a few moments, it was no longer a blank piece of parchment. It became indistinguishable from a muggle driver's license, stating amongst other things that his name was Harry Potter and that he was 18 years of age. Harry was pleased to see that the picture of himself on the magical item was quite a good picture indeed.

There was a small queue of people lined up outside his chosen club. Harry went to to the back of the line, blushing just slightly and averting his eyes from the two young men just in front of him. They weren't only waiting in line, but using the time to have quite the snogging session. Harry couldn't imagine being that physical with someone in front of who knew how many strangers.

The line dwindled quickly. Soon Harry was at the front, face to face with a rather burly looking man. The man reminded reminded Harry strangely of Gregory Goyle, one of Draco Malfoy's lapdogs. Draco Malfoy was the person Harry despised most in the world and he was glad to be away from the horrid boy for an entire summer. Draco made life with his Aunt and Uncle seem almost pleasant. At least Draco was easier to look at.

Glad to have an excuse not to analyze that thought any further, Harry handed the man his magical ID. The man looked at it, then at Harry, then at it again, then once again, at Harry.

"Are you sure you're eighteen?" Said the man suspiciously.

"That's what it says right there, doesn't it?" Harry stated as calmly as he could, pointing at the license.

The man gave the ID one last glance before handing it back to Harry and waving him through the entrance to the club. Once he was far enough away, Harry let out a sigh of relief.

After making his way through a short, dark corridor, Harry was at what seemed to be the doorway to a different world. He stepped through the door, immediately met with colorful flashing lights and dozens of male bodies moving to the music.

Harry spotted the bar and thought it was a good place to start.

"I'll have a butter-." Harry caught himself. "I'll have a beer, please."

The bartender gave him a bit of a funny look, though whatever he thought of Harry it didn't stop him sliding a beer down the bar. Harry caught it, his nerves calmed slightly by the cold glass against his fingertips and the fact that the bartender was apparently less suspicious than the bouncer. Maybe he just didn't care.

Harry closed his eyes and brought the bottle to his lips, about to have the first alcoholic beverage of his life. Without thinking, he took a rather large gulp from the bottle, and spluttered immediately, fighting to not choke and cough. It was rather disgusting. Harry guessed it was an acquired taste. He sat the bottle down on the bar after quickly finishing it off without actually trying to taste it.

He signaled for the bartender and asked for a couple shots. When the bartender asked for further clarification, Harry shrugged after a momentary silence. Smirking, the bartender lined up three small shot glasses on the bar and made quick work of filling them up. The bartender took one for himself and swallowed the contents like he was drinking water. Not thinking anything of it, Harry went to do the same.

If the beer had tasted awful, whatever the bartender had just served him was worse. It burned his tongue. Harry swallowed it reflexively, because deciding whether to spit or swallow would have taken too long. He did his best to conceal his reaction. At the bartender's raised eyebrow, Harry downed his second shot.

The bartender barked a laugh, "You're alright, kid. Here, one more for good measure. This one's on me." Against his better judgment, Harry accepted the drink. He wondered if he'd ever taste anything again, his taste buds felt like they'd been singed by a dragon.

Harry left some money on the bar before vacating his bar stool. He climbed a nearby metal staircase and found himself on a balcony overlooking the dance floor. He leaned on the railing, watching all the club's patrons dance. He'd need to find some one to dance with tonight, at least. He'd make that his goal for the evening.

After a few minutes, Harry was already starting to feel a little bit of a buzz. It certainly helped to understand the appeal of liquor, despite its awful taste. Feeling emboldened, he scanned the balcony for anyone that might be alone and looking for a temporary dance partner. The only people that were alone in the near vicinity seemed far too old for Harry. He supposed he'd just have to wait and hope someone came and asked him to dance.

"Would you like to dance?" said a voice in Harry's ear, as if he had cued it with his thoughts. He turned, startled, having not noticed the boy come up to him. The boy looked a little younger than Harry and seemed strangely familiar. Harry couldn't really get a good look at him with all the club's colored lights flashing and moving around.

"Yeah." Harry responded to the boy enthusiastically. The boy held out his hand and Harry took it. The two walked down the stairs and they were in almost the very center off the dance floor before they stopped and started dancing. The song changed a couple minutes in and Harry's dance partner pulled him closer. After a couple minutes of that, Harry blushing realized there was a very telling something poking at his hip. Though he was a little taken aback, he didn't pull away.

The song ended far too soon for Harry's liking and his dance partner pulled away. Harry couldn't help his frown.

"Want to go outside?" The boy said into his ear. Harry nodded and the two clasped hands again, making their way to the exit. They stepped out into the cool night air. Harry's nameless dance partner was leading him to a bench.

"I didn't catch your name inside." said Harry.

"It's me, Harry." For the second time that night, the boy startled Harry. He didn't recall mentioning his name while they were dancing.

"How'd you know my name?" Harry asked.

The boy turned around to face Harry. When Harry finally got a good look at him, he uttered a gasp.

"It's me, Harry. It's Colin. You know, Colin Creevey. I'm sure you remember me. I mean, we have seen each other at school the last five years, and I'm pretty sure you'll never be able to forget how I positively worshiped you when I started at Hogwarts. I saw you on the train back to the platform when school was over last term. Said goodbye to you."

"Of course I know who you are, Colin." Colin certainly wasn't a very forgettable person. As he'd said, he'd had quite the obsession with Harry in his earlier years at Hogwarts. It had tamed down somewhat in the last couple of years, though. Now they had the occasional chat but they didn't really have that much to do with each other at school.

No wonder Harry hadn't been able to place Colin when they were inside. In the bright light they were now standing under, Colin looked a lot different than Harry remembered from just a few weeks ago. He'd had a bit of a growth spurt and, like Harry, he'd dressed appropriately for clubbing, wearing blue jeans and a tight, shimmering yellow shirt with buttons up the front. He'd let his shaggy hair grow out during the summer and he'd filled out some. Harry, for the first time since he'd met Colin Creevey, was considering the other boy to be cute.

"Colin, what on earth are you doing here?" Harry asked. He was still a bit shocked.

"The same thing you're doing here, of course. Looking for some fun. I love dancing, you know. My dad just packed us up and moved us here, said he wanted a change of location. We're only just a few blocks away, we've got a nice little house. Sorry, I'm rambling. I still get a little nervous around you." Colin was blushing.

Harry chuckled despite himself. Some things about Colin certainly hadn't changed. Harry found it almost endearing.

"You were the last person I expected to see tonight, Harry. I've been coming here for the past couple nights. No one caught my eye until I saw you. Of course, when I saw you, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven, really. I guess that's the part of me that worships you coming out again. Sorry."

"It's okay, Colin." Harry was still at a loss for words.

"I suppose I should have told you who I was right off, but I thought maybe if I did you wouldn't have wanted to dance. Since the lighting in there is kind of bad, I thought you might not recognize me and you didn't. Sorry, I guess I sort of lied to you, in a way."

"It's okay, Colin." Harry repeated.

Colin pouted, thinking Harry's rather unenthusiastic responses were some kind of cue. He turned on his heels, "Now that I've had my dance, I guess I'll leave you alone. See you at school." He started off away from Harry.

"No, Colin, wait." Harry said, and it wasn't just because Colin's behind looked absolutely and utterly amazing in those jeans of his.

Harry took the few steps he needed to take to close the gap between himself and Colin, taking the other boy by the wrist and turning him around so they were face to face. Colin's cheeks were flushed and he looked up into Harry's eyes. Harry found in Colin's eyes a mirror of his own confusion.

"Harry, I-." Harry didn't give Colin a chance to finish his sentence. Without even thinking, he lowered his lips to the other boy's. Colin's lips were petal soft against Harry's. It took Harry a few moments to realize he was having his first kiss. It took a few more moments before the two boys pulled apart.

Harry's knees gave out then and there, he was glad to have the bench to fall back on. Colin soon followed suit, sitting directly next to Harry. Harry was acutely aware of Colin's leg against his own. Harry spared a glance to the people milling about on the sidewalk. It seemed no one had taken notice of them, though their kiss had hardly matched the display of the couple Harry had seen earlier.

"Harry, I - I -." Colin stammered before he finally found a word he could say. "Wow."

Those were exactly Harry's sentiments and he just couldn't stop himself from turning to Colin and pulling him close for another, shorter kiss. It was just as sweet and lovely as the first.

Harry, after reluctantly pulling away from the second kiss, draped an arm around Colin's shoulders. The other boy snuggled in against his side. Harry found himself wishing he had his jacket.

His jacket! Oh, no! He could see it so clearly now. He'd been so excited, he'd completely forgotten about it. He'd left it on the back seat of the taxi when he'd got out of the car.

"Bloody hell." Harry frowned.

"What is it?" Asked Colin.

"I suppose it's nothing, really. I just left my jacket in the back of the taxi that brought me here.

"So, we'll just go give them a ring and get it back, then." Colin said, nodding.

It sounded like a good plan to Harry. There was a phone only a few steps away.

Harry scanned the phone book, trying to remember the name of the company he'd phoned. It had completely slipped his mind..

"Well, then." Harry sighed, pushing in the number of the fist company, then the second.

Harry had called all but one of the taxi companies and still he hadn't found his jacket. Colin was clinging to his arm as he used his other to punch in the number of the final company. At least he knew it had to be the one he was looking for.

The phone had only rang once when there was a tapping at the glass wall of the booth and Harry looked up from the phone to see the driver of his taxi from earlier. She grinned and held his jacked up for him to see. He quickly rushed out of the booth.

"I thought you might be missing this, so I brought it as soon as my shift ended." she said, handing the jacket to him.

"Thanks." Harry said. "I was kicking myself, thinking I lost it, I couldn't remember which taxi service I'd called, we've been on the phone for ages trying to find you..."

"I see you found a new friend." The driver grinned, cutting off Harry's explanation and giving him a wink. She gave Colin the up-and-down. "Not too shabby."

"We actually know each other from school." Harry supplied.

"Small world." The driver turned to get back in her taxi. "Well, I'm off. My boyfriend gets absolutely dotty if I get home late. One of those jealous types, you know. See you around."

"I never got your name." Harry said, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"Name's Sheila. Have a nice evening. You, too." She winked, directing her last words to Colin. She waved and sped away from the street for the second time that night.

"So, should we go back inside?" Harry turned to Colin, smiling. He reached out and took the other boy's hand for no particular reason.

"Yeah, sounds good. I should probably get home soon, though."

"One last dance, then." This time Harry did the leading, drawing Colin past the surly man at the door. They reached the dance floor and began dancing in much the same manner as before. Harry found himself feeling more relaxed than he had in a long time, and it wasn't just that he was the tiniest bit drunk. He pulled the shorter boy closer, slipping his hands into the back pockets of those tight jeans that almost drove him mad. This action was met with no protest from Colin. He seemed to enjoy it, pressing against Harry's body and chuckling with delight.

Far too soon the song was over and it was time for them to go. Harry pulled Colin lightly through the crowd and out into the street. He wasn't quite willing to let the evening end just yet.

"Walk you home?"

"Yeah. I'd like that." Colin smiled. It was an infectious sort of smile that made Harry smile back. With their hands still intertwined, they started off.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, but it was a comfortable silence. Harry didn't really feel like he needed to talk. Harry was fairly pleased just to have a cool evening breeze washing over his heated skin, to have the warmth of Colin's hand fitted nicely against his own.

"So..." Colin said after a while, "Did those horrible muggles you live with actually let you out of the house?"

"There's a convenient tree next to my bedroom window."

Colin chuckled, "I didn't think they would have. Ginny's told me all about them, she's heard you and Ron talk about them, and well, she found out that I liked you." Colin blushed at this, "She started telling me things she knew about you. She liked you too, back then. Must have broken her heart. I was so dead-set, though, and since she was my best friend, she wanted to make me happy." Colin was turning redder and redder by the second. Harry couldn't hold back a chuckle. Colin looked up at him.

"What?" He questioned.

Harry grinned, "It's nothing, really. I just never really noticed before how incredibly cute you are." Colin managed to blush even more.

"I always knew you were nice, Harry." Colin stopped walking and looked up at him. "I did, and I was always amazed with how you were so kind with, well, everything that's happened to you. You're so brave, too, and I always thought you were the best role model for young wizards like me, and that's why I bothered you so much, I absolutely adored you." It was Harry's turn to blush now. "I've always thought you were amazing, but my feelings changed somewhere along the line. When the other boys in my dorm started talking about the girls they liked, I never joined in. I could still only think of you. I've wanted to tell you for so long, but I was scared that you'd get mad, or that you'd hate me..."

Harry thought about this. What would he have done if Colin had spilled all this out to him at school, in the Gryffindor common room? Well, he thought, he would have likely given the younger Gryffindor a swift punch. It wasn't until recently that he'd been finding himself liking boys a lot more than he liked girls. Coming to the club that night had been his first foray into exploring those feelings. Finding Colin there and really talking to him for the first time, it gave Harry a whole new way of thinking about the boy he'd barely bothered with over the years.

Harry looked down at Colin. The shorter boy was looking at him expectantly, wanting a response to his words. Harry didn't know how to respond just yet, it was all a lot newer to him than it was to Colin. Without thinking about it too much, Harry reached out with both arms and gently pushed Colin back against the wall of the building they were passing. Colin looked at him with a confused expression. Harry hoped he hadn't hurt the other boy. He pinned Colin to the wall and leaned in to kiss him. After a moment, Colin melted into the kiss, sliding his arms around Harry, clasping his hands behind the taller boy's neck.

Harry was completely lost in the depths of the kiss now, resting his hands on Colin's hips, rubbing just slightly. Being this close to Colin, holding him and kissing him, it awoke feelings in Harry he'd never experienced before.

It wasn't until the loudness of a car horn invaded Harry's ears that he pulled away from Colin, startled by the sudden noise. A car sped off, filled with the sounds of cackling laughter. A guy around Harry's age who'd been hanging out the window pulled himself back into the car as it accelerated off into the night. Harry chuckled and looked down at Colin, who was grinning. Harry gave Colin one last little peck before taking his hand and starting to walk again.

"I've never really liked anyone before, to be honest... I guess I had a crush on Cho, I suppose, but I never really thought too much about guys. I guess it was Cedric that got me started, as weird as that sounds. I thought about him a lot, after everything... You know. A time or two I caught myself thinking about how handsome he was, and then I had to take a good hard look at myself and analyze those thoughts more than I should have..." Harry grew quiet.

Colin squeezed his hand after a moment. "It's only a couple of blocks now." Harry nodded, squeezing back.

Soon, they were in front of Colin's house, standing on the front step under a naked bulb that had been left on. Colin looked up at Harry.

"Can I see you again soon?" He looked nervous, like he thought Harry would turn him down.

Harry reached over and pulled Colin close to whisper in his ear, "If I had my way, you wouldn't have to go. I want to see you again as soon as possible."

Colin smiled happily and that made Harry smile. If they kept that up they'd be found standing there in the morning, still smiling at each other. Luckily, they both had the sense to look away.

"See you later, then." Colin pulled a key chain out of his pocket. It had a lone key hanging from it as well as a fuzzy pink heart. After unlocking the door, he slipped through it quietly. Harry suddenly felt very alone.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry was at the end of the path that led up to Colin's front door before he heard angry shouting coming from the house. He supposed Colin's father was giving him hell for being out so late. Harry wasn't too worried. He assumed it might be normal parent behavior. If his Aunt and Uncle caught him when he got home, he'd be in for the talking to of his life, but he didn't think that being caught by a parent would be quite the same.

Then he heard the sound of glass shattering. He was back on Colin's doorstep quicker than he thought possible, turning the knob and opening the door. The sight that met him utterly horrified him.

The first thing Harry saw was Colin's father, looking very threatening and standing over Colin's form. Colin was down on the floor, clutching a hand to his face. Harry heard him let out a whimper. The shattered remains of a beer bottle weren't very far off from Colin.

Harry was so full of anger he didn't know what to do. He rushed forward, lifting Colin to his feet. He took a protective stance in front of the other boy. Colin sobbed quietly.

"Who the hell are you?" Colin's father asked, squinting blood shot eyes at Harry. It was obvious he'd been drinking, and quite a bit more than Harry. "A friend of this fairy here, are you?"

Harry stared Colin's father in the eye. The man, though taller than Colin, was just a little shorter than he was and Harry didn't find him very threatening. If he had to, he would take the muggle man down with his bare hands. He didn't take time to think about how he didn't really know how to do that.

"Yeah, I'm his friend. You'd better not come any closer." Harry was trying to make it sound like there could be no arguing with him. He hoped he sounded more confident in his physical prowess than he actually was.

"You're another queer, then, aren't you? What do you think you could do to me? You queers are all a bunch of sissies." Colin's father cackled hollowly at that, a humorless sound. He took a long step forward to close the space between himself and Harry. "You'd better keep your nose out of my business and be on your merry way, or you're apt to get hurt, little man."

Harry didn't budge. If anything, he grew even angrier, "You great bloody git. You don't deserve to have a son like Colin."

"I'll not be talked to that way in my own house!" Colin's father growled, taking another step forward. That was all the encouragement Harry needed. With all the strength he could muster, he gave the muggle man a great shove, knocking him flat on his back.

"Come on!" Harry grabbed Colin's hand and started pulling him towards the door. They were nearly out the door when Colin stopped their progress.

"What is it?" Harry spun around to face Colin, who looked absolutely terrified. "Harry, we can't leave Dennis! Dad'll beat him something fierce when he comes out of it and I'm not here." Harry agreed, looking down at Colin's father. He looked like he wasn't quite sure what happened, a little bit dazed even. He muttered something as he started to stir.

"Let's go get him, then." Colin ran up the stairs to the right, taking them two at a time. Harry followed close behind him.

"Dennis, wake up!" Colin called, shaking his brother awake. After a few moments, Dennis blinked sleepily and sat up in bed. "Whatsamatter?"

"No time to explain. Just get up and come with us." Colin hurriedly shoved articles of clothing into a duffel bag, stuffing it until he was full. He was part way to the door before he returned to the other side of the room. He reached into the bottom drawer of a dresser in the corner and pulled out a fuzzy red sock that drooped heavily at the bottom, the contents of the sock clinking together when Colin moved it. He shoved it in his pocket.

"Colin, what's going on? Who's that with you?" Dennis questioned, rubbing his eyes and seeming to wake up. He let out a gasp, "Harry!"

"Stop chattering and move, Dennis!" Colin ran over and dragged his brother out of bed, pulling him to his feet. "Colin, that hurts!"

Colin hurried his brother to the door, and Harry followed the pair. They reached the top of the stairs before they heard a roar of anger.

"We won't be able to get away from him fast enough if we go down there." Colin looked panicked. Tears shone wetly in his eyes. Harry wanted nothing more than to make them disappear. That would have to wait until later.

"The window!" Harry started, rushing back into the room they'd just left. After the Creevey brothers were safely inside, he slammed the door shut and turned to Colin. "Lock it." Colin complied.

For the second time that night, Harry hoisted himself out a second floor window. This time, there was no convenient tree branch to help his escape, only empty space. This was no time, however, to try and find an easier route down to the ground, so he lowered himself out the window until he was clinging to the sill by his fingertips. He let go. His feet touched the ground shortly after, but he overbalanced at the last second and fell head long into a bush in the Creevey's lawn, scratching up his arms and face a bit.

"You two, do just what I did!" He called up the window. "I'll try to catch you if you fall. Dennis, you come first."

Dennis appeared at the window, looking quite frightened. He hesitated, and Harry thought Colin was going to have to shove the younger boy out the window to get him going, but after a few seconds Dennis closed his eyes and came feet first out the window, letting out a cry as he plummeted quickly towards the ground. Harry stepped over at the nick of time, bracing Dennis with an arm so he wouldn't fall over.

"Come on, Colin!" Harry called up to the window. He could hear Mr. Creevey pounding violently on the door. It would give in any second. "Come on!"

Colin was at the window at once, and didn't hesitate a moment before following in the footsteps of Harry and his brother. He tossed his duffel bag out the window, narrowly missing Harry's head. In no time at all, he was on the ground with Harry on one side and Dennis on the other. Harry hugged Colin for a long moment. He didn't want to let go of the other boy but he had no choice. He grabbed Colin's duffel from the ground, and uttered a single word as he took hold of Colin's hand.

"Run!"

Harry could hear the two brothers' father shouting from the front step of their house, but they were already a block or so away and it was dark. He hadn't seen which way they'd went and it was unlikely he'd be able to follow them in his current state, anyway.

The three boys didn't stop running for quite a number of blocks and they didn't stop walking until long after that. It was just starting to get light out before they came to a small all night diner. They decided to stop, clean up and get something to eat.

First they went into the rest room. Colin handed the duffel to his brother, who took it into one of the stalls to change into something that wasn't pajamas. Harry had carried Dennis part of the way, since he hadn't been able to put on shoes during their hurried escape.

Harry tried to clean up the small cuts and bruises on his arms and face as best he could. Colin frowned at his reflection in the mirror. His father had given him quite the shiner.

"Does it hurt much?" Harry asked. He moved to face Colin, picking the other boy up and sitting him on the washroom counter between two sinks to inspect the large, angry bruise.

"Only when I touch it." Colin replied. "It's not that bad."

Harry frowned, "I wish I could have stopped him from hitting you. You don't deserve it."

"He's never done it before. I guess he must have saw us out on the step and just couldn't control himself. He never used to drink so much, either, I don't really know what's going on with him."

Harry pressed his forehead against Colin's, looking into the younger boy's eyes. "That's the last chance he'll have to hurt you, that's for damn sure. I'm not going to let him hit you again." Harry punctuated this with a kiss, a gentle kiss that showed signs of escalating to the type of kiss they'd shared earlier, the kind that made Harry's heart beat harder. After only a few moments, Colin pulled back and leaned against the mirror.

"Dennis'll hear us." He said quietly, peering at the stall his brother still occupied.

"Let him hear." Harry didn't care if Dennis heard, he just wanted to be close to Colin. He felt like he'd lived through an entire lifetime in the past few hours, a lifetime he'd shared with Colin. They'd gone through the experience together. He felt closer to Colin than he would expect after so little time. He would think about it later when they'd had a chance to calm down.

"I'm not ready to tell him yet, that's all. I will soon, just not now."

Harry nodded, "I understand." Then he chuckled. Colin looked at him questioningly.

"I can just see Dennis at school, bragging to everyone in his year. 'My brother's the famous Harry Potter's boyfriend. It's true.' He's going to be so proud of you, I'm sure."

Colin flushed, and so did Harry, realizing he'd just implied a relationship that didn't exist. Not yet, anyway.

"There we go." Dennis smiled as he exited the stall, now fully dressed. He handed the bag he'd taken his clothes from back to Colin, his pajama bottoms hanging out the side a little. Harry noted his fuzzy green socks, and made a note to remedy Dennis' lack of footwear as soon as possible.

Harry cleared his throat and stepped away from Colin, as he'd been standing rather close to the other boy. No sense in getting Dennis asking questions just yet. "Let's get some breakfast, shall we?"

Colin nodded and Dennis shrugged, so Harry exited the restroom with the other two boys in tow. They slid into a booth in the main part of the diner, Harry then Colin on one side, Dennis on the other.

"What can I get you?" A tired-looking waitress asked, slouching up to their table. She looked like she might be in her late thirties, or maybe she was in her early thirties and just needed a good nap. Harry couldn't really tell.

"What would you like, Dennis?" Harry asked, smiling. "It's on me."

Dennis grinned happily, "I'll have some eggs and bacon, please, and toast with marmalade, and a large glass of chocolate milk." The waitress jotted this all down on a notepad she had with her.

"Right then, well I'll have-" Harry grinned at the look that Colin gave him, a look that said 'Why didn't you ask me what I wanted?' "A stack of pancakes with blueberries, and a mug of coffee, no sugar or cream. My friend here will have some waffles topped with bananas and brown sugar, if its not too much trouble. Bring him a glass of milk, too, please." Harry smiled at the waitress politely.

His polite manner seemed to brighten the waitress up a bit, and she smiled back. "Is that all, dear?" Harry nodded, and the waitress took their order off to the kitchens.

Dennis started fiddling with a sugar packet, which promptly tore open, spilling sugar crystals all down his front. He blushed and brushed at them in embarrassment.

Colin turned to Harry slightly, giving him a playful poke in the ribs, just a light one, "That just happens to be my favorite thing to have for breakfast." He grinned.

Harry winked, letting out a genuinely happy chuckle, "If there's one thing I knew about you before this whole ordeal, it's that more often than not when I see you at breakfast in the great hall, you're sitting there with a stack of waffles with bananas and brown sugar on top. I don't think I've seen you have anything else for breakfast... Well, ever. The image must have stuck."

Colin grinned widely, his cheeks flushing in the way Harry had become quite accustomed to. Giving the boy another wink, he coyly reached down under the table and gave Colin's leg a pat. Dennis was politely oblivious to the happenings on the other side of the table, as he was still ridding himself of sugar crystals.

"So." Dennis piped up after making sure he was once again sugar-free, "No one's told me yet why you two woke me up, made me jump out a window and run around all night in my pajamas."

"Er." Started Colin.

"Oh, look, the food's here." said Harry, as the waitress who'd taken their order returned with a large round tray piled with their order. It looked almost as good as the food the school house-elves prepared at Hogwarts.

Colin looked up at the waitress with a grateful smile, "Thanks."

"Just pay at the front when you're ready." She smiled and walked off, starting to clean the counter. There were no other customers to tend to.

All three boys dug in to the delightfully hot food, Colin and Harry carefully avoiding conversation opportunities with the third boy.

Harry finished off his pancakes in a hurry. "I'll be back in a few minutes." He rose then without giving the brothers any sort of explanation. After paying their waitress at the front, Harry exited the diner and glanced around at the surrounding shops. Luckily, they were starting to open. He wouldn't have to wait too long. He walked across the street towards a shop that looked likely to have what he was looking for: A pair of shoes for Dennis.

The sign just behind the glass window of the door proclaimed that the shop wouldn't open for another hour. For a moment, Harry felt defeated. Then Harry noticed movement within the shop. Without thinking first, he rapped against the door a little too hardly with his knuckles. The person inside stopped what they were doing and looked up. They approached the door warily, eying Harry with slight suspicion. "We don't open until eight o'clock. Come back then."

"I've not got the time to wait." said Harry. The man inside just shook his head. Harry sighed in exasperation and reached into the back pocket of his jeans, fishing some money out of his wallet and pressing the notes against the glass pane for the man to see. "Will you let me in now?"

The man thought about it for a few moments before unlocking the door and letting Harry in. Harry let out another sigh before handing the notes over to the man. The man seemed pretty pleased with himself. Without waiting for assistance, Harry sought out the footwear department. After searching for a few minutes, he found a pair of trainers that looked suitable. He found the man that had let him in, who seemed to be the only person about.

"I want these." Harry told him, smiling shyly. "I'm sorry for the trouble, my friend lost his shoes." The man raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything. Harry shrugged, "You know how nights out with your mates can be."

Harry paid and thanked the man before leaving the store and going back to the Diner where the Creevey brothers were waiting with now empty plates and nearly empty drinks.

"Ready to go?" asked Harry. The two of them nodded.

"Here, Dennis. Wear these. I think they should fit, they might be a little loose, though."

Dennis complied without questioning Harry and did indeed find them to be a little big. Once Dennis had the shoes on, Harry beckoned for both he and Colin to follow him out of the Diner.

"I spent most of the money I had on me on Dennis' shoes." Harry told them. Dennis flushed a little, and Harry immediately said, "Don't worry, Dennis, its no problem at all. What I was getting at, though, is that we can't call up a Taxi like I'd originally thought we would. We'll have to take the underground. Is that a problem?"

Both brothers shook their heads no, but then Colin spoke.

"Harry, where exactly are we going?"

Harry smiled, "Where else would three teenage wizards with no where to go, go? Diagon Alley."

It wasn't very much of a walk to the nearest underground access, and they were able to take a route that brought them out fairly close to Charing Cross Road. Soon, they found themselves standing in front of the entrance of The Leaky Cauldron, and they seemed to be the only ones on the street that could see the rather seedy looking bar. Harry had decided long ago that it was only visible to those that were magically inclined. As the eyes of passing muggles roamed from the building on the one side of the bar to the building on the other side, his thoughts were only reaffirmed.

"You two can stay here for a few minutes while I go to Gringott's, can't you?" Harry asked. Colin and Dennis responded in the affirmative. They sat down at a small table in the corner, eying a rather peculiar looking witch with curiosity. Harry was certain they'd be safe. Though it didn't look very charming from the outside, The Leaky Caldron wasn't that bad of a place. After his stop off at Gringott's, Harry would rent them a couple of the rooms that were available above the bar.

Harry entered Gringott's under the eyes of a pair of surly looking goblin guards and immediately went up to one of the slightly less threatening goblins behind the counter.

"Er." He started. "I'm Harry Potter. I've come to withdraw some money from my vault, vault 687."

"Key, please." said the goblin. With a bit of a sickening feeling, Harry realized he didn't have the key to his vault at the wizarding bank. He kept it in his trunk with his school things and he couldn't have known when he left Privet Drive that he would need it later

"Er, I don't have it with me."

The goblin blinked. "Well, do you have any proof of identity, then?"

"Er." Harry said again. Did he have anything that would prove who he was? Then it came to him. Smiling, he lifted his fringe up off his forehead to show the waiting goblin the scar just under his hairline, shaped like a bolt of lightning. That would make it obvious he was who he said he was.

The goblin gave the scar an appraising look before moving to a wall behind him, plucking a key from the many that were hanging from the wall and motioning for Harry to follow him.

Soon, Harry had followed the shorter creature through a door and he was sitting behind the goblin in a small cart. While the cart started off slowly, it was soon going at break-neck speeds. Harry doubted he would ever get used to how things worked in Gringott's. He curled up into a ball in the back of the cart and tried not to feel sick.

It took a few minutes to get to Harry's vault. He was glad when the small cart stopped and he was able to get out. The goblin walked up the vault, stuck the key into the door and turned it. The door opened, and both Harry and the goblin stepped inside.

The vault was still nearly full with gold galleons, silver sickles, and bronze knuts. Harry's parents, it seemed, had been quite well off before they'd died. When Harry had first seen the vault full of money and been told it was all his, he'd been amazed.

He'd not gone dotty with the money as many teenagers might have, only spending what he thought he needed to. No sense going broke before he was through school, that was for sure. Harry piled many galleons, some sickles, and a few knuts into Colin's duffel, which he'd brought along with him since he didn't have anything else to carry the money in and Galleons were quite large.

"I think that'll be all then." Harry told the goblin. The pair of them left the vault. The goblin locked it again within moments and they were back the way they'd come, in the speeding cart. Another few minutes and Harry was back on his way to the Leaky Cauldron and the Creevey brothers, after picking up ice cream cones for the three of them at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. He thought they could all use a bit of a treat after what they'd been through, never mind that they'd just had breakfast.

Harry entered the Leaky Cauldron to find Colin and Dennis still at the small table he'd left them at. He handed them the ice cream he'd bought for each of them, and pulled up a chair from an empty table.

Colin took a nibble at his, and Dennis gave his a rather loud slurp to start off with. The younger brother then lowered his ice cream and stared pointedly at both Colin and Harry in turn.

"It's time the two of you told me what this is all about, bringing me so far away from home and all. Spill the every-flavor beans, won't you?"

Colin looked sidelong at Harry, who smiled encouragingly at him, saying, "He'll find out sooner or later. Best to tell him before he starts jumping to conclusions."

Colin nodded, and cleared his throat. Harry could see he was trying to find the right words.

"Er." Colin started, the tops of his ears turning red like Ron's did a lot of the time. Harry grinned.

"Well, you see Dennis." Colin was turning pinker by the moment, "You see, the thing is-" Harry would have interjected, but this seemed to him to be something Colin needed to tell his brother himself. "The thing is, Harry and I, we're-" Colin glanced at Harry momentarily, then to his brother. "Harry and I, we're, well," At that, Colin reached down and took Harry's hand in his, pulling it from where it had been resting and placing their intertwined hands on the table top for Dennis to see. Colin now watched his brother with wide eyes, holding his breath. Harry could feel the other boy's hand trembling in his own and he gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

Dennis' jaw dropped in surprise, and his ice cream cone dropped as well, making a slight plopping noise as its top hit the table. It stayed there like that for a small while before falling onto its side and rolling to the floor.

Finally, after a few minutes of silence and staring, Dennis spoke.

"Fantastic!" He smiled widely as he spoke.

Colin blinked. "What?"

"Well, you've liked him for so long and all. I'm glad you two have started getting on with things."

Colin stared, his mouth opening and closing, as it was his turn now to be surprised. Finally, he was able to say, "How'd you know, Dennis?"

Dennis chuckled, "I'm not entirely daft, you know. I've seen how you look at him." He waggled his eyebrows, "Plus, I found some notes you and Ginny'd been writing hidden in your school trunk."

Colin blushed, "Dennis! Why were you snooping in my things?"

Dennis looked indignant, "I wasn't snooping! I was just looking for a quill. Some of us don't do our summer work first thing, you know."

Colin shook his head in disbelief, but Harry could see that a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Harry gave Colin's hand another squeeze and smiled.

"Now that's settled, I'm going to carry on with my ice cream." Colin used the hand that wasn't holding Harry's to raise is ice cream to his lips and take a bite. Soon, he'd polished off the tasty treat, as Harry had his. Dennis stared at his on the ground all the while, quite more upset about it than the news that his brother and Harry Potter might possibly be becoming an item.

"We'll get you another." Harry said. This made Dennis brighten up considerably.

Harry glanced around for the care taker of the Leaky Cauldron, "First thing, though, we need to get ourselves some rooms to stay in."

Harry's companions nodded in agreement, and he stood, walking over to the other side of the room where he'd just spotted the bald, toothless landlord, Tom.

"Why, if it isn't Mister Potter." said Tom, smiling. Harry thought he could spot a single tooth inside of Tom's mouth. Maybe he wasn't toothless after all.

"Hello, Tom. Have you any rooms available?"

Tom thought for a few moments, "We're pretty full just now, the holidays and all, you know. But I'll see what I can round up for you. I'll only be a moment." With that, he disappeared behind a curtained doorway, leaving Harry to wait for him.

Harry waited patiently for Tom to come back, folding his arms across his chest and looking around at the patrons of the Leaky Cauldron.

Tom was back again shortly. "I've got one double bed across the hall from one single. Will that do?"

Harry nodded, "How much?"

"For you, six galleons a day. Sound fair?"

Harry nodded once again, and handed Tom eighteen galleons. He'd give the man more later, if they hadn't figured out what to do in three days' time. Tom handed him a pair of keys and he went back to the Creevey brothers, smiling.

"They've only two rooms, a single and a double. Do you two want to share?"

Dennis piped up, "I think you two should take the double. I'm sure you've lots of talking and such to do." Neither Harry nor Colin argued. The three of them went upstairs and found their rooms. Harry gave one of the keys to Dennis. He had disappeared into his room before Harry unlocked the one he would be sharing with Colin.

The room, like the room Harry had stayed in once a couple years ago, was quite cozy looking. There was a large brick fireplace in the corner, two squashy yellow armchairs on a large rug in front of it. There was a dresser on the other side of the room and in the very middle of the room was a large, canopied bed with what looked to be white satin sheets. On either side of the bed were night stands, and only a few feet from the bed was small table surrounded by matching chairs.

Harry deposited the duffel they'd brought along on one of the wooden chairs, hung his jacket on the back of the same chair and kicked off his boots. Now that he was in such a comfortable looking room, he felt positively exhausted. He released a yawn that seemed to have sneaked up on him, sitting down on the edge of the satin covered bed.

"Tired?" Colin asked, his own eyes drooping a little. Harry grinned.

"Looks like you could use a bit of a nap, yourself." Harry said. Too tired to worry about remaining decent, Harry made quick work of removing his T- shirt and jeans, along with his socks. He wasted no time in crawling under the soft white sheets of the bed and snuggling in. His eyes closed as soon as his head hit the pillow, but he did not drift off to sleep until Colin was in the bed with him, snuggled warmly against him. Harry wrapped an arm around Colin and gave him a peck on the cheek before drifting off into a deep sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry's eyes fluttered open to immediately meet Colin's. Colin was smiling, Harry could tell even though the other boy's lips were pressed lightly against Harry's own. Harry had been dreaming about kissing the boy next to him, but the reality was better than anything he could imagine.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty, or should I say good evening." Harry glanced out the window. Moonlight shone through it in a wide sliver and Harry could see a handful of stars sparkling from where he was on the bed.

Harry grinned and leaned over to give Colin another kiss. He looked at his wrist, then realized he wasn't wearing a watch, "D'you know what time it is?"

"Some where around midnight, I think."

Harry sat up, leaning against the headboard of the bed. Colin followed suit, curling up against Harry and leaning his head on Harry's chest. Harry played idly with a lock of Colin's hair.

"Just what are we going to do, Colin?" He asked after a few minutes of silence.

Colin didn't answer this question, Harry could see by the look on his face that he had no idea what they were to do.

Harry opened his mouth to say something else, but he never got the chance, as a tapping at the window and a shadow that blocked the moonlight distracted him. He looked through the glass to see his snowy owl hovering just outside.

"Hedwig!" he cried in surprise, rushing over to the window to open it and let her in.

"You found me!" Harry smiled, petting the owl lightly. Hedwig looked proud of herself for finding her master. She nibbled Harry's finger affectionately.

"I was hoping you'd turn up. I need to send a letter to Ron as soon as I can." He clucked his tongue for a moment, thinking. "I've not got any parchment, though. Guess it'll have to wait until morning."

Hedwig hooted, flying to the top of the dresser that sat in the corner.

"They've got one of those places that's open twenty-four hours a day down in Diagon Alley, I'm sure of it." said Colin. "I'm not really all that tired any more, either. We did sleep an awfully long while. Want to go for a walk?"

Harry smiled, "Just let me get dressed."

It only took a moment or two for Harry to get dressed in the clothes he'd hastily discarded earlier. They looked slightly wrinkled, but they were fine for a late night walk through Diagon Alley. Colin was ready in a similar amount of time.

"We'd better check in on Dennis." Colin left their room, closely followed by Harry. He opened the door to his brother's room and peeked in. Harry could hear light snoring.

"He'll be sleeping for a while yet, I think. No need to leave a note or anything."

The pair of them went quietly down the stairs and into the bar part of the Leaky Cauldron. A tired looking witch stood behind the bar and a lone wizard sat hunched on the other side. There was a mug of butterbeer in front of him which he appeared to have been nursing for quite a while. The tired witch raised her eyebrows at Harry and Colin but didn't say anything.

The night was cool and Harry slid his arm around Colin's shoulders as they walked. Colin draped his arm around Harry's waist. Harry felt perfectly comfortable.

Cho Chang was the only person Harry could really compare Dennis to in any kind of romantic way. During their brief attempt what didn't really seem like a relationship the previous year, almost everything Harry had done had brought the girl to tears or heated anger. The last Harry had heard, she was going out with a boy who'd also gone out with Ginny. He couldn't remember the boy's name at the moment, no big loss there. He thought it might have been one of her fellow Ravenclaws. For as long as Harry could remember, he'd not been able to understand girls very well and given his current company, that didn't seem like it would be a problem. As a bonus, he hadn't made Colin angry or made him cry and they'd been together for almost twenty-four hours straight.

Harry had been thinking recently that the fairer sex might just not be for him, given his previous record with members of said gender. Given the hustle and bustle of the life he'd been forced to live, he'd never given much thought to it. Boys dated girls, boys kissed girls and boys did several other things with girls.

In the past few weeks, Harry had remembered that some boys date, kiss, and do several other things with other boys, and the more he thought about it, the more it seemed to appeal to him. The Boy-Who-Lived didn't know if he was completely off of girls, but Colin was a welcome, refreshing change to the sobbing Cho he'd had the pleasure of courting.

Harry kept walking down the deserted street, empty of its usual large crowd of witches and wizards doing the shopping they could only do in Diagon Alley. It took him a moment to realize that Colin had stopped walking. He only realized when he tugged on the other boy's hand and met resistance.

"Sorry." Harry flushed. "Lost my head there for a moment." He grinned sheepishly at Colin, who chuckled lightly and smiled up at him.

"We're here." Harry looked at the magically lit storefront, sporting a flashing red and blue sign. Peering in through the large window under the sign, Harry saw no customers. The only inhabitant of the shop was a short, blonde haired wizard near the front of the store behind a counter.

A bell chimed cheerily as Harry and Colin entered. The wizard looked up from the copy of the Daily Prophet he was reading, giving them a bit of a smile before looking back down and continuing his reading. Harry glanced into the aisles between tall, thick wooden shelves, glancing at shining words that hovered above each aisle, gliding back and forth in an eerily quiet manner.

Over an aisle near the middle of the shop hovered the words 'Quills, stationary, and assorted accessories.' This was, of course, the place to look and Harry headed straight for it. He was met with the sight of parchments, inks, and quills in several different colors. Harry chose a package of standard-coloured parchment, a bottle of green ink that glowed slightly when he held it away from the light produced by the many candles that burned brightly around the room, set in chandeliers that tinkled a bit of a melody. Last thing was a quill, and Harry chose a white one, since he wasn't particularly picky about it.

Harry went to the counter and as an after thought, he picked up a package of Droobles Best Blowing Gum from a table near the counter and placed it with his soon-to-be purchases.

"Will that be everything?" asked the wizard behind the counter, and Harry nodded. Up close, he could tell the man looked rather sleepy.

Just then the man let out a yawn, "Blast that Horace. I told him I didn't want him to be late, his shift was supposed to start twenty minutes ago." He was mumbling to himself more than talking to Harry and Colin. He jotted down Harry's items on a slip of parchment, on which the total amount of gold Harry owed appeared at the bottom of. The slip also duplicated itself, and the wizard handed the duplicate to Harry, saying, "One Galleons, five Sickles, please. Harry handed the man two Galleons and the man withdrew twelve Sickles from a drawer which he promptly handed to Harry. "Have a nice night, hope to see you again."

Harry nodded and started for the door of the shop. Colin followed, placing a slightly out of date issue of The Quibbler he'd been leafing through back on its shelf. The pair of them left the store, falling into step beside each other.

"Want a piece?" Harry asked Colin, holding out the package of blowing gum he'd just bought.

"Please." said Colin. "I just love Droobles! Those bubbles, they just used to drive Dennis mad when he was younger, the summer after my first year at Hogwarts. He'd try to pop them and get so frustrated when they wouldn't go." He chuckled lightly and unwrapped a piece, immediately sliding it into his mouth and chewing. After a few moments, he opened his mouth to speak, and several bubbles floated into the air, hovering there before being swept away in a breeze.

They were just at the edge of the shop they'd just left and Harry noticed a thin alley between it and the shop next to it. Grinning, he pushed Colin just into the Alley, pressing him against the wall of the shop and facing him. The bit of an alley was so thin that Harry's back pressed against the next building. Harry didn't mind, he had a kiss from Colin on his mind. He'd not kissed the other boy properly in hours, and he was right eager to feel those soft pink lips against his.

Harry bent his head slightly to kiss Colin, who obliged by tilting his face up. Their lips met and they kissed. It was a light kiss, at least at first. Soon, the kiss deepened, and Harry wanted, like he always did, for it to last an eternity. They kissed again, but this kiss didn't have the chance to become deeper, as it was interrupted quite early on.

"Out of the road!" said a voice, startling both Harry and Colin and making them pull apart.

"Out of the road, I say!" repeated the voice and its owner now pushed the two of them out of his way, not in a violent manner, yet enough to get them out of his way.

Harry wasn't too upset, just exasperated at the fact that he and Colin had been interrupted. He looked up to see a rather tall man striding towards the door of the 24-hour shop, and assumed the man was Horace whom the short wizard had been waiting for. At Horace's heels was the silhouette of a cat.

Harry and Colin grinned at each other and started off towards the Leaky Cauldron. Harry was hoping they might continue in their room.

"You know." said Horace, and Harry and Colin both turned to find him looking at them. "You ought not to be snogging in dark alley ways in the middle of the night. Get a room."

Horace seemed slightly flushed, and his mop of curly brown hair glistened wetly in the dim light cast by candles that hovered over the Alley. "Get a room."

Harry grinned, flushing, "We've got one, thanks." With that, Horace went into the store, the cat still on his heels. The door closed and the bell above it jingled. Moments later it jingled again, and Harry heard the short wizard mumbling to himself sleepily as he retreated in the opposite direction to that which himself and Colin were going.

It wasn't until then, after all the confusion of the past few minutes, that Harry realized he'd been chewing Colin's blowing gum since their kiss. Blushing, he offered Colin another piece, who took it. Harry pulled Colin close to his side, arm around his shoulders again. Colin kissed Harry's cheek, making him flush pink again, and they continued back towards the Leaky Cauldron in the same way they'd walked away from it, snuggled closely together.

It wasn't until they were back in their room in the Leaky Cauldron, just snuggling into bed that either of them said another word.

"Thanks, Harry." said Colin out of the blue, startling Harry slightly. "Thanks for everything. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"It's quite all right, Colin. I couldn't let him hurt you, I just couldn't." Harry turned to Colin and smiled to him in what little light was coming through the window. Tears glimmered on Colin's cheeks. Harry leaned over and kissed them away, pulling Colin into a warm hug. Colin sobbed against his chest and Harry rubbed the other boy's back soothingly. After what they'd gone through in the past few hours, Harry perfectly understood the need for emotional release, and he held Colin in his arms long after the other boy had cried himself to sleep.

It was early the next morning when Harry got out of bed, leaving Colin snuggled warmly in the bed, still sleeping. He smiled down at the other boy, leaning down to kiss his forehead lightly. Taking parchment, ink, and quill with him, he went to the table inside the room and sat down, starting to work on writing a letter to Ron.

Ron,

I'm at the Leaky Cauldron, and most likely won't be returning to Privet Drive before school starts, so I won't be there on the day that your Mum and Dad were going to come get me. The Creevey brothers are with me, and I'm hoping they can come along with me to your house. It's a long story, one I'd rather not explain in a letter. Please send a response back with Hedwig as soon as you can.

Hope to hear from you soon,

Harry

Harry reread the letter to make sure he hadn't left anything out. Satisfied, he went over and prodded Hedwig awake. She opened her eyes reluctantly after a few moments and looked down at him, looking rather ruffled.

"Can you take this to Ron for me, Hedwig?" Harry asked. After blinking at him blearily for a moment, the owl stuck out her leg for him to attach the envelope. Since he didn't have anything to tie it with, he had to settle for wrapping the parchment itself awkwardly around Hedwig's leg. She blinked at him, and he shrugged. She wasted no time, however, and after Harry opened the window she promptly flew out of it.

The sound of Hedwig's exit caused Colin to stir. He murmured as he opened his eyes, looking over at Harry and squinting in the sunlight that was starting to stream through the window.

"Morning." he said groggily, sitting up. Harry grinned at Colin. He looked quite cute after he'd just woken up, with disheveled hair and all. He rubbed at his eyes and seemed to wake up.

There was a soft knock on their door just then, and without waiting for them to answer, Dennis walked in with visibly drooping eyelids and sat on the edge of their bed, looking quite sleepy himself.

"G'morning." Said Dennis, blinking at the two of them in turn.

"Good Morning." Harry said, feeling rather cheerful. He felt a world apart from the events that had forced them to where they were. He was quite happy being here with Colin and Dennis in the early morning instead of back at number four, Privet Drive, where he would have most likely been getting a talking to from Uncle Vernon for something or other. He'd returned to the Dursley's house after term had ended and he'd stayed there for a month or so. He would rather have not returned at all, but his mother's final sacrifice was connected to her blood. Aunt Petunia and Dudley were his mother's only living relatives, as far as he knew, so he had to put up with them during the summer for the magic to keep working.

"Shall we go have breakfast?" Harry asked the Creevey brothers, who were becoming steadily more awake.

"I just want to lay around a bit longer." said Dennis, stifling a yawn with his hand and flopping back on the side of the bed Harry had vacated minutes earlier. Harry chuckled.

In a few minutes, though, the three of them were ready to go downstairs for breakfast, where each of them ordered a large stack of waffles smothered in maple syrup. Their plates kept refilling themselves until the three boys were stuffed and none among the three of them good eat another bite. Harry paid for their meal when they'd finished and supposed they'd make a day of wandering around Diagon alley and taking in what there was to see. There was always something new to discover in Diagon Alley, after all. It was always full of surprises.

They stepped out into the bright morning sun, and, with the help of a wizard who was also going into the alley, gained entry through the wall behind the Leaky Cauldron. Most of the shops were just opening, and witches and wizards of several varieties busied themselves outside shops, cleaning up, or in window displays arranging things. The day was full of the promise of fun and enjoyment. Harry would have told himself that nothing could go wrong on a day like that day, but saying such things to yourself was a sure-fire jinx.

The first stop they made was at Flourish and Blotts Bookstore, which Harry had rarely entered aside from those times each summer when he had to buy new textbooks for school. He found out they had quite an interesting selection of books after taking the time to browse each section of the store thoroughly. He bought the first book in a series novels for himself, having never read any wizarding fiction before. Not wanting his companions to feel left out, he bought a photo album for Colin. Although he didn't stalk Harry with his camera any more, he still took a lot of pictures. He got Dennis a comic book he'd been leafing through near the front of the store, and both brothers thanked him happily, although Colin tried to protest that Harry didn't have to spend any money on them.

"It's no problem." Harry said simply.

By the time they left the bookstore, it was nearly eleven-thirty, and Harry thought it was quite time to stop for lunch. They settled outside a small, quaint looking cafe and their order was soon taken by a small, squeaky house elf. The elf was quick and soon returned with a large tray full of food, nearly suffering what could have been a fatal accident. It couldn't see over the top of the tray and it nearly tripped over the small table cloth it wore as a toga.

"So, what's the plan, Harry?" asked Dennis, taking a bite out of a sandwich he took off the tray.

"I figure, if we can, we'll spent as much of the rest of the summer as we can at the Burrow, then we'll go to school." Harry replied.

"I bet my Dad will be feeling terrible just about now, and worried about where we are... We could probably go home, I don't think he'd ever act like that again... I don't think I'm ready to face him, though. Maybe in a couple weeks, before school starts. I'll write him when we get to the Burrow. That will be fun, I've never been to Ron's house. Oh, I hope he doesn't mind."

Harry smiled, "Ron and his family have been putting up with me for years. I don't think they'll mind the extra company too much."

They chattered for the rest of their meal about what Quidditch teams were looking good for the year, if any of the newest brooms looked any good, and they contemplated for a while over who might be replacing the awful Professor Umbridge as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

After lunch, they whiled away the afternoon wandering around one of the allies that went off from Diagon Alley which none of them had ever been down before, or even noticed. Harry wondered if Diagon Alley had parts that came and went as they pleased, like Hogwarts did. The three of them were very content that evening as they walked back to the Leaky Cauldron, each finishing their last of several cool butterbeers they'd been drinking all afternoon. The three of them went to the room Harry and Colin were sharing to find Hedwig perched on the back of a chair, a letter bound to her leg in the proper way. It was obviously a reply from Ron. Harry rushed over and untied it, starting to read it aloud as she flew to the top of the room's dresser.

Harry,

I talked it over with Mum and Dad, and they've gone nearly mad worrying. They say they're going to Diagon Alley first thing in the morning to get you. They say it's okay that the Creeveys come, too. Once Hermione gets here in a week, though, it'll be right crowded around here, I think. Anyway, can't wait to see you tomorrow!

Ron

PS – My Mum sent an owl to Dumbledore, I couldn't stop her. I guess my powers of persuasion only went so far as to convince her they didn't need to come get you as soon as they read your letter. He'll probably come see you once you get here.

Harry rolled the letter back up and shoved it in his pocket. He was quite glad the Weasleys were coming so soon. Once he was at the Burrow, he just knew his life would regain at least a little of the order it had lost. He'd not been to the Burrow in ages and being there always seemed to make his troubles melt away. It was more of a home to him than any other place ever had been.

"Right then. If Ron says they're coming for us first thing, we ought to get to bed. I have a feeling that'll be good and early tomorrow morning. No trouble, is it?"

Colin and Dennis shook their heads no.

"Good. We don't have anything to pack, so I guess it's to bed. See you in the morning, Dennis."

"G'night." Dennis left the room and Harry heard the click of Dennis' door closing moments later. He'd soon stripped down to his underwear to sleep, since he didn't have any pajamas. He was glad that there wasn't much difference between underwear from a wizard store and muggle underwear. He crawled into bed, Colin following him moments after. They snuggled up together, and fell asleep after mumbled goodnights.

Harry was sitting on the park bench where he'd first kissed Colin. It was oddly dark and the street lamps were off. Colin sat next to him, looking eerily serious.

"Colin?" Harry questioned. Colin turned to him, and let out a yell.

"What is it?" Harry asked. His voice had become quite cold and high-pitched. He knew why Colin was screaming.

"Stop screaming!" said Harry. He reached out a long, spider-like hand and clenched it around Colin's throat, who spluttered and coughed, looking at him with fear-filled eyes. Harry heard himself utter a cold laugh, and with that, he sat bolt upright in bed.

Harry let out a startled yell in the dark, his scar smarting painfully. Colin stirred beside him, jostled by the sudden movement and sound.

"Harry? What's wrong?" He asked groggily.

"It's..." Harry started. Could he tell Colin? He'd never really discussed these sorts of things with anyone but Ron and Hermione. "It's just my scar. When I'm asleep, I have these dreams that sort of, well, connect me with Volde-" Colin shuddered. "I mean, he-who-must-not-be-named."

"That must be horrible."

Harry nodded, frightened by the dream himself. It was obviously just a dream, something Voldemort had placed in his mind, because Colin was laying next to him and though he looked quite sleepy, he was as healthy looking as ever. Even the bruise from his father had gone down quite a bit, so he looked even a little better than he had earlier. The dream left Harry feeling shaken.

"What was the dream about?"

Harry shook his head, "You don't want to know."

After a moment of the two of them staring at each other in the dark, Harry more felt than saw Colin shrug. Harry lay back down and wrapped his arms around Colin, feeling like he needed to protect the other boy.

He knew he would have to. Voldemort now knew, because of the horrible connection he'd forged with Harry when they first encountered each other, that Colin had become more important to Harry in some way. The dark lord was going to try and use that to his advantage to get to Harry.

Harry couldn't let that happen, no matter what. He'd rather die himself than let Voldemort hurt anyone. He also knew that in the end, it was either he or Voldemort that would have to die. His mission was clear, he just didn't know when it would go into action. Things were just starting to get bad.

Harry stayed awake for a long time that night, contemplating. He might become closer to Colin than he'd ever been with anyone else and he didn't like the fact that that would bring extra danger to the other boy's life. After what felt like an hour of this Harry fell into a thankfully dreamless sleep, still holding Colin in his arms.

Harry woke slowly the next morning to muffled shuffling around and whispers. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and glanced around blearily until he found his glasses and put them on.

Mrs Weasley and Colin were busying themselves packing away what few things the boys had with them into their school trunks, which Harry was only slightly surprised to see. He wondered if they'd got his Aunt and Uncle to give his trunk to them some how, or if they'd used more creative methods.

"Why didn't you wake me?" Harry asked. Colin started a little, having not noticed that Harry had awoken. Mrs Weasley turned and smiled warmly.

"Good morning, Harry dear." She walked over to the small table in the room and picked up a tray full of food; some steaming pancakes topped with butter and syrup, a plate of toast and some orange juice. She brought it over and sat it in Harry's lap.

"I thought it was best to let you sleep. Colin told me about the nightmare you had." Just great, now Mrs Weasley would have something else to worry about.

Colin blushed a little as he approached, "Feeling okay, Harry?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Harry scratched his head sleepily, then stifled a yawn that seemed to force out the last of his tiredness. He was ready for the morning, and dug in heartily to the stack of pancakes.

There was a sudden tapping at the window, and the three occupants of the room glanced over to see a medium-sized brown owl tapping its beak against the glass, thick parchments bound to its leg.

Mrs Weasley went over and unlatched the window and the owl flew in and perched on the back of a chair, holding out the leg that had parchments tied to it. Mrs Weasley untied them, and gave the owl a small bit of bacon that was left on someone's discarded breakfast plate. It was soon gone out the window again.

"Your letters from Hogwarts." Mrs Weasley told Harry and Colin. "Your brother's, too." She added, turning to Colin. "I'll buy your things for school today, before I take you all back to the Burrow."

Harry opened his mouth to tell her she didn't have to go to all the trouble, but she held up a hand. "I've got to get Ron's and Ginny's things, as well, and I'm used to buying for more than two, anyway." She frowned a little, and Harry decided to let her go on with it.

"Get the money for our things from my vault." Harry told her.

"Harry! You don't have to do that." Colin piped up.

"How else are you going to get your school things? It's no problem, you know. If you really feel like you need to, you can pay me back later." Since Mrs Weasley's head was now turned away from them, Harry waggled his eyebrows, which made Colin giggle and the sound of Colin actually giggling made Harry laugh out loud. Soon the pair of them were having quite a fit. Mrs Weasley was just glad to see Harry smiling and laughing like he hadn't done in a long while and let them be. She tidied up the room a little more, then left, telling them to meet her back in the dining area of the Leaky Cauldron at lunchtime.

The door had just barely clicked shut behind Mrs Weasley when Colin almost bounded over and bounced onto the bed, grinning widely as he kissed Harry on the cheek, then lightly on the lips, "I've been just dying to do that all morning. I just didn't think you'd appreciate it in front of her.

"She'll find out soon enough, and I know she'll be okay with it. The Weasleys are very understanding, and they love me" Harry didn't have any doubt in his mind that his relationship with Colin wouldn't make the Weasleys think any less of him. He could depend on them; they were more his family than the Dursleys ever could be.

Harry and Colin got dressed, went and got Dennis, then went out into the alley for a walk. It was already busy, and getting quite warm in the crowded space, the sun shining brightly over head. Out here, it was hard for Harry to feel anything but happy with the warm sunlight on his face and Colin by his side.

They contented themselves with looking at the displays in shop windows for the most part, occasionally going in to get a closer look at this or that. There wasn't much that they hadn't already seen, so it was more to busy themselves until lunch when they would meet with Mrs Weasley.

"Let's get some Every-Flavour beans." Colin nodded in agreement, and after buying a rather large pouch of the candies, they sat down on a bench and ate them one at a time, commenting if they got a particularly peculiar flavor. The three of them having been raised in the muggle world, these sorts of treats were slightly more interesting to them than they were to other wizards, but they were practically normal now. Harry hadn't run into much in a long time that shocked him.

After being quiet for a couple of minutes, Colin turned to Harry, looking quite serious.

"What is it?" Harry asked him, slightly alarmed.

"What are we going to do, Harry? About this whole mess, I mean."

"I think we should worry about that when the time comes, and the time won't come until you want it to." Harry smiled encouragingly. "We'll be off to the Burrow soon, and then off to school. The last couple of days won't really matter all that much. Well, some parts will matter." Harry winked at Colin with a grin.

Colin chuckled, popping an Every-Flavour bean in his mouth. He frowned immediately and spat it onto the ground. Harry and Dennis looked at him.

"Earwax." He stated, gagging slightly.

Harry had no way of knowing how things would turn out. He hoped Colin would be able to make up with his father. He hoped that one day, he would defeat Voldemort. All he really knew for sure was that Colin had helped him find the optimism he hadn't known he'd lost. With that, he could face anything.


End file.
